Hydraulic spoke wheel



Nov. 6, 1934.

M. HENAP HYDRAULIC SPOKE WHEEL Filed April 7, 1954 INVENTOR MICHAEL HENAP BY (u,

. ATTORNEY l atentecl Nov. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFKE' HYDRAULIC SPOKE WHEEL Michael Hnap, New York, N. Y.

Application April 7, 1934, Serial No. 719,444

3 Claims. (Cl. 152-47) This invention relates to new and useful imone of the ends of one of the stems of one of the provements in a hydraulic spoke wheel. hydraulic spokes.

The invention has for an object the construc- Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of one of the tion of an object as mentioned which is charhydraulic spokes, illustrated per se.

- acterized by a felloe for a tire, a hub for the Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of one section '5 wheel, and a novel arrangement of hydraulic of the spoke illustrated in Fig. 6. spokes between the felloe and hub for producing Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of the other seca wheel of great resiliency. With this arrangetion of the spoke illustrated in Fig. 6.

nient it is possible to use a solid tire as dis- The hydraulic spoke wheel according to this l0-tinguished from a pneumatic tire and obtain all invention comprises a felloe 10 for a tire 11 on '65 the resilient qualities of the pneumatic tire. its outer side and having its inner side formed More particularly, in further detail, an arwith ,a plurality of recesses 12 and 13 for receivrangement is proposed wherein each spoke has ing the stud ends 14 of hydraulic spokes 15. The

a stud at one of its ends engaging in a receiving felloe is associated with a hub 16 for the wheel recess in the felloe, and a stem at its other end having its outer side formed with a plurality of Z0 mounted upon a fastening element in a recess in recesses 17 and 18 for receiving the stems 19 of the hub. the said hydraulic spokes 15.

Still further the invention proposes an arrange- Fastening elements 20 for the stems 19 are arment whereby the hydraulic pressure within each ranged within the recesses 1'7 and 18 in a manner 20 spoke functions to maintain the spoke in posiso that the stems may be readily engaged and Z5 tion within the recesses of the felloe and hub. disengaged as desired. The hydraulic spokes 15 Still further the invention also proposes an arare arranged in similar groups around the cirrangement whereby flanges are attached upon cumference of the wheel and at angles to the the felloe and hub for further insuring the mainradial lines of the wheel in such a manner so as tenance of the spokes in position. to rigidly and firmly hold the felloe relative to Still further the invention also proposes an arthe hub. More particularly the spokes 15 in each rangement whereby the stems of the hydraulic group have certain of them at the outside of the spokes may be removed from the fastening elewheel relative to the others. This may be parments only when the stems are turned slightly ticularly seen by inspecting Figs. 1 and 2 and 30 from their normal positions to permit disengagenoting that in each group there are two spokes ment over heads of the fastening elements. on the outside and two beneath said two. This Still further the invention proposes the conarrangement is necessary in that then the spokes struction of a device as mentioned which is sim-' may cross each other and so brace the felloe ple and durable and which may be manufactured properly against the hub. 35 and sold at a reasonable cost. The felloe 10 is formed with a peripheral cir- For further comprehension of the invention, cumferential recess 21 into which the tire 11 enand of the objects and advantages thereof, r f gages. This tire is a solid rubber tire. The felloe erence will be had to the following description 10 is Supported by the Spokes 15 from the hub and accompanying drawing, and to the appe d d and are arranged at both sides of the hub. The 40 claims in which the Various novel f t of the construction on both sides is identical. The felloe invention are more particularly set forth. 10 h rmg 22 amachfad upon each slde by 3 P In the accompanying drawing forming a rality of screws 23 which serve to close the sides terial part of this disclosure: of the recesses 12 and 13 for aiding in preventing Fig 1 is a side elevational view of a wheel conthe Spokes from dlsengagmg' It Wm read- 45- ily be understood if for any reason the spokes stmctedaccordmg to tms mventlon' lose some of their pressure and tend to contract Fig. 2 1s a fragmentary enlarged sectional view they will be prevented from falling out by the T hne of Flgi flanges 22. Similarly the hub 16 is provided with Flg- 3 S a fragmentary elevatlonal VleW of a flanges 24 attached in position with screws 25. 5 p r i n f h f l sh w p i y a p r- These flanges also serve to hold the stem ends tion of the inner side thereof. of the spokes from disengaging from the recess. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on The recesses 12 and 13 distinguish from each the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. other merely in the fact that the recesses 13 are Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion extended inwards further from the sides of the 55? of Fig. 1 showing in particular in enlarged scale felloe than the recesses 12 to accommodate those spokes arranged in the back as contrasted to those arranged in the front. Each of the recesses 12 and 13 have depending lips 26 towards the outer sides of the felloe for dividing 01f inner portions of the recesses into which the studs 14 engage. Similarly the recesses 17 and 18 in the hub distinguish from each other merely in the fact that the recesses 18 engage in further from the sides of the hub than the recesses 17 for accommodating those spokes in the back as contrasted with those in the front. 7

The stems 19 of the hydraulic spokes are formed with elongated openings 27 adapted to engage upon the fastening elements 20. Each fastening element 20 has an offset head portion 20" arranged so that the elongated opening 27 may engage the-reover in one position of rotation of the stem. As illustrated in Fig. 5 the stem 19 is in its natural position in which the spoke is mounted in the wheel. In order to disengage the stem 19 from the fastening element 20 it is neecssary that the stem be rotated slightly anti-clockwise so that the elongated opening 27 aligns with the head 20' of the fastening element, and then disengagement is possible. These fastening elements 20 are mounted upon the inner walls of the recesses 17 and 18.

Each of the spokes 15 comprises telescopic sections in the form of an outer section 30 and an inner section 31. The outer section 30 has the stud l4 projecting from one end. The inner section 31 extends from the outer section 30 and is equipped at its extended end with the stem 19. A packing gland 32 threadedly engages upon the inner end of the outer section 30 for hermetically connecting the sections to maintain a condition of pressure within the section 30 as desired. The inner section 31 is also equipped with a head 33 provided with several packing rings 34: so as to hermetically seal a compartment 35 existing between the end of the outer section 30 and the inner end .of the inner section 31.

A one way valve 36 is mounted upon the outer section 30 for the purpose of passing oil and air into the compartment 35. Experience shows that in the operation of each of the hydraulic spokes a good combination is one in which the compartment 35 is filled with oil and A with air. The oil is non-compressible while the air may be compressed. It has been found that with this particular ratio best results have been obtained. In addition the oil aids the telescopic action and furthermore aids in the hermetical sealing of the compartment 35.

The wheel may be placed in operative condition in the following manner: First let us assume that the flanges 22 and 23 are removed from the felloe 10 and the hub 16. The hydraulic spokes 15 are then engaged in place so that the studs 14 engage in the recesses 12 and 13 and the stems 19 are engaged upon the fastening elements 20. Of course it is necessary that the stems 19 be first engaged upon the fastening elements and then the hydraulic spokes swung into proper condition for the studs 14 to engage the recesses 12 and 13. The spokes may be temporarily filled with some liquid and air merely for the purpose of holding them in position. Finally the flanges 22 and 24 should be engaged in place. The spokes are now ready to be brought up to their proper conditions of pressure for producing the resiliency desired. This may be done by injecting oil and air through the valves 36. The pressure in each of the spokes may be read with a gage placed in succession on each valve 36, as is customary in reading the internal pressures of inner tubes of tires.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment "of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is rcserved to all changes and modifications coming Within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:-

1. A hydraulic spoked wheel, comprising a felloe for a tire on the outer side thereof and having an inner side having recesses for receiving stud ends of hydraulic spokes, a hub for the wheel having an outer side having recesses for receiving stem ends of said. hydraulic spokes, fastening elements for the stem ends in the recesses in the said hub, hydraulic spokes having studs on one of their ends engaging in the recesses of said felloe and stems on the other of their ends engaging on said fastening elements, and cooperative means on said fastening elements and stems for holding them joined in normal positions of the stems upon the wheel and laterally disconnectible by moving the stems free from the fastening elements in turned positions of the stems.

2. A hydraulic spoked wheel comprising a felloe for a tire on the outer side thereof and having an. inner side having recesses for receiving stud ends of hydraulic spokes, a hub for the wheel having an outer side having recesses for receiving stem ends of said hydraulic spokes, fastening elements .for the stem ends in the recesses in the said hub, and hydraulic spokes having studs on one of their ends engaging in the recesses of said felloe and stems on the other of their ends engaging on said fastening elements, certain of said spokes being laterally inside relative to other of said spokes to provide for the crossing of said spokes, and the said recesses being similarly arranged, that is, certain of the recesses being laterally deeper than other of the recesses for respectively receiving the ends of the inner and outer spokes.

3. A hydraulic spoked wheel, comprising a felloe for a tire on the outer side thereof and having an inner side having recesses for receiving stud ends of hydraulic spokes, a hub for the wheel having an outer side having recesses for receiving stem ends of said hydraulic spokes, fastening elements for the stem ends in the recesses in the said hub, and hydraulic spokes having studs on one of their ends engaging in the recesses of said felloe and stems on the other of their ends engaging on said fastening elements, said fastening elements having offset heads, and said stems having elongated openings engageable in certain pos'itions of rotation over said heads, and in normal positions upon the wheel having said elongated openings out of register with said heads.

MICHAEL HENAP. 

